Good governance, nationalism key to country's peace and order

May 14, 2020

For democracy to work it must be triangulated with patriotism; which Kyankwanzi failed to teach me but COVID-19 has!

By Samuel Baligidde

National leaders shouldn't be blamed too much. National character and national morale are the ones that determine the quality of national leadership. Hence the metaphor, "people beget the governments they deserve"!

If the masses don't identify themselves with their Government in some respects of governance or the economy, it doesn't mean they cannot support it in others. For democracy to work it must be triangulated with patriotism; which Kyankwanzi failed to teach me but COVID-19 has!
     
Dissatisfaction with some Government policies can be forgotten for the sake of confronting a deadly common existential threat. How intimate the link between our Government and its people is will be crucial. If there's a gap between the government and the people as to the aims and methods of certain policies, it can be adequately bridged by common faith, ideology, and all-permeating nationalism.

Whereas patriotism doesn't work at all times, constitutional and institutional systems must be in harmony with the guidelines of the national leadership. Personal qualities of politicians and personnel responsible for determining and implementing the battle plans for fighting COVID-19 are crucial. Does the end justify any means, only some, or none?

Whether a noble aim justifies an alliance with a perceived opponent, has religious implications. Even corruption, internal dissension, or the effects of economic hardship and food crises do not justify violence. An ideological view might be in the affirmative.

Of necessity, Governments condemn and punish citizens for committing the very acts of violence they themselves sometimes perhaps condone!  In daily life, individuals and groups make choices and in the process accept renunciations and sacrifices of values which they sincerely embellish.    

The State may be incapable of monopolizing the means of violence but has a duty to prevent others from using it. Criminal use of violence must be punished by legitimate use of it. Niccolo Machiavelli proposed two methods of fighting; one by law, the other by force. He said the first method was that of men [human beings], the second of beasts. He observed that since the first method could be insufficient, one had to have recourse to the second! It is necessary for a prince [ruler] to know how to use both the beast and the human being!

A prince being thus obliged to know well how to act as a beast has to imitate the fox and the lion. The lion cannot protect himself from traps and the fox cannot defend itself from wolves. With due respect, a National leader, especially an altruistic one like Jjajja, should learn to be a fox, not a leopard to recognise traps, and a lion to frighten wolves. Those who prefer being only Lions might be better off adopting the Florentine Nobleman's concept of the politics of Crisis.

The fundamental discrepancy existing between the morality of state and individual behaviour appears only if it can be demonstrated that politics conducted in international relations is not necessarily any more immoral than individual behaviour. Is an action that's evil under one set of conditions, morally justified under another? Moral condemnation rests, not on values that have been destroyed, however deplorable or downright evil such destruction may be perceived.

It's based on the conviction that either action rests on fake ethical standards or that in terms of agreed ethical standards, a less destructive choice can be made. If good governance, nationalism, political and moral consensus constitute the main ingredients of peace and order in a country, the absence of either or all of them can cause a breach of peace and order.

The writer teaches Governance and Politics of Public Policy

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